2013/2014 – Winter Gear Guide

2013/2014 Winter Gear Guide

Let’s face it. You only buy new gear when you absolutely have to. Well, sometimes that’s not even true. We’ve all seen that guy ridin’ his thrashed jacket with duct tape slapped on it, or when your board has so many core shots it’s starting to look like craters on the moon. Or maybe you are just too embarrassed to wear your old gear – yet that doesn’t explain people still wearing neon onesies or jester hats.
Whatever it is that has driven you to finally shell out some cash – this gear hat better hold up through the abuse and look good doing it. We’ve done the dirty work, so rest assured that when you’re on the trail or on the mountain – you won’t end up soaked, stranded, wrecked or mangled – this gear is the cream of the crop. So Pull out your credit card, and burn your next bank statement before you read it – because you won’t be able to resist busting the bank. Introducing the latest and greatest Outdoor Gear for Fall/Winter 2014.

Every Year the Outdoor retailer show takes place in Salt Lake City Utah, and the top outdoor gear companies debut their new lines of apparel, outdoor gear from snowboards to climbing gear and hiking and running shoes for 2014. Our gear heads, adrenaline junkies and adventure addicts and board/ski bums all attended the show and brought you the best of the best from the Summer 2013 Outdoor Retailer show to bring you the 2013 fall/2014 gear guide. After searching the floor for days to find the coolest most innovative product, we tested and drooled over the best. They’re this year’s winners of our coveted Gear of the Show awards. Some you’ll see on the shelves of pro shops or REI, Patagonia and other’s you’ll have to wait a few more years – but here it goes.

The Best Snow and Ski Helmets of 2013/2014

If you’ve got any brains worth protecting – Wear a Helmet.

This applies to on the bike, on the mountain and at the skate park. Time to get with the program. Proper protection creates confidence and can eliminate

barriers between you and that next trick. Our top pick helmet for 2013? The Poc Synapsis pictured, retails at 219.95 on sale at $99.95 at GearChase.com. When it comes to finding the right helmet, it’s all about fit and ventilation. Too loose and your noggin is a yolk inside an eggshell. Too tight you’ve just paid a pretty penny for a nice looking vice, and have fun with the migraines. Get fitted – and buy online for half the price. Browse Clearance Snow and Ski Helmets up to 70% off

Best Ski Resort Jackets of 2013/2014

Killer ski jackets are built for comfort, agility, warmth and dryness. Other essentials: are keep dry features like waterproof zippers, taped seams, powder skirts, wrist gaiters, high collars, oversized hoods, easy access pockets, and key clips. We’ve done the research for you.

2013 Arc’teryx Modon Jacket

#1 Winner Best Performance Winner Arc’teryx Modon Jacket. Thanks to innovations in insulation and durable waterproof materials, say Saroyan to puffy bulky down coats. A whole new era of jackets provide the warmth and insulation but with more movement and agility. In fact, most 2013 ski jackets have this same philosophy. Any puffy jacket you do see if for sub zero mountaineering. The exterior will hold up better than any branches you break as you whiz by the trees in the back country. The waterproof jacket features exterior zipper pockets, high neckline and over-sized hood to keep you warm and cozy during the worst blizzard mother nature throws at you. Now this is the priciest jacket you would probably invest in – retails at $700, but 36% off at GearChase for $442. The price may be twice as high as other jackets, but it is going to last twice as long –

Burton 2013 AK Cyclic

The price may be twice as high as other jackets, but it is going to last twice as long – and it definitely fits twice as good – and looks twice as good too. Don’t hyperventalate yet, we have a best value runner up with most of the same features, less the price tag – including the Goretex reinforced materials – but the brand we all recognize and style you’ll wear on the street: the Burton AK Cyclic. Retails at $365 but only $210 at GearChase. We’ve scoped out another 5 best value ski resort jackets from the cream of the crop from the best name brands for 2013. These jackets made all the top ten lists from Forbes, to GQ to Outsiders Magazine – but we’ll save you the trouble and just give you the top five. Drum roll please:

5 Best Value Resort Ski Jackets – 2013

Best 2013 Best Snowboards

Best All-Terrain Snowboard: Never Summer Proto CT/CTX

Best All-Terrain Board of the Year: Twin boards used to be for freestyle riders – made for kickers and rails. Twins would get chattery on uneven snow and couldn’t hold their own outside the park. But oh how the tides have turned. This Never Summer Proto has the stiffness and pop, it will remind you of the spankings you got with a wooden spoon when you were just a youngin’. Enter the all-terrain twin Proto CT. Best all around board, for all around the mountain. Credit to the use of P-tex sidewalls and a wood core concoction – which adds pop and cuts down on the weight at the same time. The perfect rocker between the bindings with camber camber at the tip and tail makes it breach like a whale in powder and hold an edge when it counts. Big feet? The wide-waisted CTX pleased testers with size 11 feet.

Best Powder Board – Burton Cheetah: We had to throw in a second winner for the board category. A novelty throwback – Burton’s swallow tail Cheetah. Nostalgic slightly tapered front with an updated tail.

There’s just enough taper to let the tail sink a little easier than the nose. The Cheetah gives you the perfect pop for those powder days, keeping you afloat in that heavenly powder. If you live somewhere with deep powder, and you have deep pockets – it just might be worth buying this board for those perfect backcountry powder hound days, helicopter drops, snowcat sessions or days when it just dumps and you’re the first on the lift. All in all, the Cheetah is only for veterans, and those who want more control and pop than their average powder board. Unleash the Cheetah for snowcat sessions, heli laps, and deep days in-bounds. The Cheetah retails at $600, but find it at GearChase up to 30% off for only $419.

The two biggest innovations in skis since metal edges have been a rocker upward bend and taper narrowing of the tip. Finding the right balance seems to be the battle of the brands, and who knows if anyone will ever get it right – or if it all up to personal preference – but it seems that theDynastar’s Cham 97 has got it tuned in. Named after the companies French hometown of Chamonix, the Cham 97 does perform like a champ. It’s one of the most dymamic all terrain ski’s we’ve seen on the market. The tips float like cream on coffee and the camber underfoot and flat tails give you the horse power to hard cut turns, leaving cleanct sidewinders behind you. The only downside, is the wide, rockered gets a little squirrely on hardpack, but with such a performance on the powder – we can’t complain if it gets a little cranky when we throw down on some dirt. Retailing at $800.00 get your 30% off for $549.94 at GearChase.com

Best Backcountry Skis: K2 BackDrop

With the BackDrop, K2 has once again proven that there’s never a finish line when it comes to riding the powder. They’re always looking for ways to ride harder and faster, and how to float easier and lighter while you’re doing it. With a perfect blend of rocker and sidecut combined with a bit of carbon fiber—the k2 BackDrop is the latest attack on the the powder. These coaster float like a cork, you can almost just take a back seat to slash and cut through any turn. This is a great ski, backcountry, powder, but it can even handle the resort without any complaints.

Nike takes the cake for 2014. It was a toss up between the Nike’s and the all time favorites/winners here at GearChase – Burton Ions. Yet Nike wins for their innovation – the Luna Foam, which is the most comfortable snowboard boot your feet will ever step it’s toes into. The Nike Lunarendors follow the styling of the Nike Zoomites, a boot that has won over a ridiculous following and helped Nike take a stand when it launched a snowboard line in 2011. In addition, the interchangeable insoles add versatility depending on your riding style. We know boots are is the most important piece of gear for a snowboarder, and the hardest price to find a right fit. We did a comprehensive review on the NIke Lunarendors – check it out. http://wp.me/p20pDI-sg.

Black Jack Solar Battery

The market is flooded with bulky solar paneled chargers. But seriously, if your phone can fit in your pocket, your charger should too. FINALLY. Introducing Brunton’s Ember. Small as a deck of cards, a.k.a. – Black Jack. A solar paneled batter charger with a UBS port for your phone, iPad or any other device you need. Charge your phone several times over. Then

then let this boy bask in the sun for a jumpstart. Better than a car charger. Versatile beyond the backcountry. Take it on a day trip to the beach or a day on campus. Retails at $89, only $66 at Grab yours now -> GearChase.com

The Spooner

You’re not a mummy, so don’t et a sleeping bag that’s madeg for one. Studies show that 70% of people are slide sleepers, yet most sleeping bags are made for the sleeping dead. INtroducing the NEMO Nocturne 15 Sleeping Bag. The revolutionary sleeping bag made for the modern day Spooner. With extra room at the knees and a pinched midsection to avoid becoming

a tangled mess, you are free to toss and turn all night – staying comfy and warm the whole while. The only thing missing is someone to spoon with. Technical specs: The 15-degree, water-resistant, down-filled bag. Retails: $420; low as $400 at GearChase.com. See the entire inventory of Sleeping Bags On Sale.

The Art of the Selfie – GoPro Hero 3 Black EditionMost people may already have a version of the GoPro, but there is nothing like the GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition. Just do it, get on eBay and list it. It’s kind of like girl friends, always trade up. Don’t be fooled by the counterfeit brands the entered the market like Sony – there’s no competition to the quality and durability of the GoPro. The new, yet smaller Hero3 Black Edition shoots even higher rez with a lens that is unbelievable twice as sharp as the previous GoPro models. If you compare still shots on this GoPro to still shots to an SLR camera, you will be simply ASTOUNDED by the quality. Side by side photo’s of a cannon D90 will blow your mind. Video quality has skyrocketed, with low light enhancements.

The GoPro Hero3 shoots from 24 to 60 fps in in 1080p and lets you choose three fields of view ranging from narrow, medium and wide. You even have the options to shoot from ultra slow motion 240 frames per second (with come compromise to the rez). Te black edition has built in Wi-fi to sync with the smartphone app (other versions require an add-on Wi-Fi adapter). You gain full control over as many as 50 cameras with this sync ability. Smaller, lighter, sharper, better … It’s the runaway POV cam of the year. The GoPro Hero 3 Black Edition is available starting at $399 from GearChase.com. Check out mounting brackets, batteries and other accessories at deep discounts as well at GearChase.com.